With The Frost We Fall
by BellatrixLestrangey
Summary: Sokka comes across Azula lost and freezing to death in some remote part of the South Pole. He does what he can to try to help her.


On the list of people Sokka couldn't imagine feeling pity or sympathy for, Azula was at the top. And yet there he found himself; wrapping her shivering body into the warmest blanket he had at hand. She wasn't saying much and he didn't have the guts to coax her into talking. She simply sat there, legs drawn up to her chest as puffs of air slipped between her lips and rose skybound.

Every ounce of Sokka longed to know how she ended up so far from civilization…so far from the Water Tribe. Every ounce of him wanted to know why she was even near the water tribe in the first place. All the same, not one ounce of him had the nerve to ask.

So he settled for cradling her close in an attempt to retain what warmth was left in her.

There wasn't much.

As he gazed down at Azula's small form he wondered just how much longer she would last in this condition. Her lips had already been painted an unnatural bluish purple. Her hands stiff and red, then again he noticed that everything about her was stiff and tense with cold. He moved to brush away the frost and flakes of snow clinging to her lashes and pulled her even closer.

With her body pressed against his own he could feel just how violently she was shivering and hear with clarity her morbid struggle to breathe correctly.

 _Not much longer_. He came to conclude. Sokka knew he should have figured that much out from the get go. He didn't know much about firebenders but he knew it was a dreadful sign when they weren't bending it to keep themselves warm. And he hadn't seen a spark from the otherwise trigger-happy princess.

He stroked comfortingly at her hair, but only for a moment before finding himself disturbed all over again. This time due in part to his discovery that her hair had become so wet with snowfall that it too was frozen stiff and stuck together in chunks.

 _She doesn't even have a pair of gloves_ , the thought struck him. He frowned, sarcastically thanking himself for the new and revolutionary observation. His frown deepened knowing that he had no idea what to do other than to keep holding her and hoping that someone would come across the pair.

Mid-thought he noticed that Azula's lips were moving.

"What was that?" He asked.

"You think I deserve this don't you?" She spoke only a little louder than the first time and just as raspy and weak. She sniffed, whether from the cold or sadness he couldn't quite be sure.

Sokka found himself putting a hand on her stinging red cheek. "I…well…" he thought for a moment, "no." Even with his mittens he could swear the cold radiating from Azula's skin pierced his skin. "You don't deserve this."

Azula was silent for a very long time. Her shivering nearly halted. She lie there lifelessly. Just before his heart could sink he caught the faintest slurred whisper. "Why don't I?"

 _Because you're just a kid like the rest of us? Because somehow I know that there's good in you. Because no one deserves to die so slow._ All of these responses landed on his tongue.

Not one made it further than that.

"Because I love you." And he couldn't begin to explain why he had let that one slip.

Her response may have been a laugh, it may have been a cough. _Even at her worst she can still make me feel so humiliated._ But then she spoke again. "I guess that's good to know before I die. That someone loved me…even if you're only saying that because I'm going to die."

"I'm not." Sokka squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry that didn't hurt did it."

Azula let out another soft wheeze. Now that was a laugh. "I didn't even feel it, Sokka. I can't feel my hand. I can't feel anything." He could see it on her face, she wanted to cry. But she either couldn't or knew that tears would only freeze up and make things worse. "Why?"

"Why what?" Sokka brushed his thumb over the back of her hand which now looked as blue as her lips. He didn't want to see the state of her fingers.

"Why do you love me?"

"If you live through this, maybe you can help me figure that out." Sokka shrugged.

"You're an ass." The princess muttered softly.

"I guess because you're a fighter. Like me. And because…I guess I just do. Call it Sokka's instinct." Again the princess was painfully quiet. "Oh come on please don't let your last words be calling me an ass."

Azula glanced up at him, eyes lacking their usual golden gleam, "you're instincts are awful and you're an ass." She shut her eyes and despite her words curled herself up into Sokka's arms. Not-so-deep inside he knew that she wouldn't be saying anymore. That last response had taken too much energy. She was past fighting what was to come and had transitioned into laying there and accepting it.

But he hadn't transitioned into accepting it. He clenched his teeth and tore his parka off, wrapping it around Azula's winter-beaten body. He considered offering her his mittens too but figured that her fingers were past saving at this point. With one goal in mind he heaved her up and began trudging. The firebender, limp as she'd grown, wasn't helping him at all. His only comfort became the slight rising and falling of her chest.

He couldn't possibly be sure how long he had walked for. But by the time he finally found his way home his legs were screaming for mercy and his own body longing for warmth. So much so that he almost felt compelled to dance in fire.

With a bit of reluctance, he handed Azula over to the healers. A miserable pang seated itself in his belly upon wondering if he had just handed over a corpse.

Much more time had gone by before the healers beckoned him into their tent. He pushed back the flap and stepped into the cozy warmth. Resting startlingly still on the bed was Azula. No one uttered a word. Sokka wanted to take her hand but decided against touching the bandages coiled around it. So he instead he wrapped his hand around wrist, biting back tears.

"You're not just an ass, you're a stubborn ass. It's kind of impressive." Azula mumbled, still sounding tired and spent…but not quite as weak as before. She turned her head and fixed her drained eyes on him. "How many fingers do I have left?"

"None." Sokka replied quietly.

"Thanks a lot, now I'm actually going to have to deal with that." Azula grumbled. "Oh well I guess you'll be doing the housework and what not." She snuggled her head against the pillow.

Sokka crinkled his nose at the thought. But looking down at the princess who already seemed to be making an alarmingly fast recovery he couldn't have felt any happier.

Katara had warned him not to go on that hunting trip so close to the blizzard.

He was glad he didn't listen.


End file.
